20 posts from July 2008

With Tuesday's Internet problems fixed (for now), it's time for some thoughts on Brett Myers' successful start against the Nationals.

Myers fired seven-plus efficient innings in a 2-1 win over the Nationals, his first victory in two months. He threw predominantly fastballs. He succeeded without dominating stuff (he struck out only two batters). All were positive signs.

Much like last week's win in which the Phillies came back against the Mets after Johan Santana had dominated them, Myers' start is best viewed as an isolated game. The Phillies went on to lose three straight after their comeback against Santana. If Myers follows Tuesday's progress with a couple of clunkers, his start in Washington will be one of several this year in which he pitched well but failed to replicate his success afterward.

Myers faced a Washington lineup Tuesday that wouldn't scare a pitcher on its best days. The Nationals haven't hit anyone lately, scoring one run in their last 28 innings.

Sure, Myers could have come out and got bombed by Washington. That he did not was definitely a plus. Everything he did Tuesday should leave people encouraged.

Just give him a few more starts before considering Tuesday's game any kind of turning point. Manager Charlie Manuel harps on the importance of consistency. Consistency is what the Phillies need to see from Myers the next few times he steps on the mound.

Myers' next two starts should come against the Cardinals and Pirates. He will face much better hitters in each of those games than he saw Tuesday. St. Louis has Albert Pujols, Ryan Ludwick, Rick Ankiel and Troy Glaus. Pittsburgh has Jason Bay and Nate McLouth.

If Myers strings together two more good outings, let the praise flow. For now, tempered enthusiasm would seem to be the best approach to his start Tuesday.

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The Manny Ramirez-to-Philadelphia rumors continue flying. One published report claimed the Phillies were the frontrunners. Another claimed the Phillies had no interest.

The best guess here is Manny stays put in Boston. The Red Sox have grown tired of Manny's act before. They have never pulled the trigger on a deal, in part because it would be hard to replace his production. The only player the Phillies could deal to Boston that would come close to hitting the way Ramirez has this year is left fielder Pat Burrell. Both players have no-trade clauses, which would further complicate any deal.

The non-waiver trade deadline is just about a day away. The Manny rumors will stick around at least that long, and possibly longer. Manny could very well clear waivers given his hefty contract. That would make him eligible to be dealt in August.

The Philles have sent Adam Eaton to the minors, though his destination is not set yet. Triple-A Lehigh Valley left-hander J.A. Happ will likely take Eaton's roster spot. The Phillies will announce their roster move Tuesday.

Assuming Happ gets recalled, it's not clear what role he would have. The Phillies could make him the second lefty in their bullpen. One other possibility would be putting Happ in the rotation and sending Brett Myers to the bullpen. Perhaps one of the front-office executives will shed more light on the possibilities today.

Last year, Jimmy Rollins was the toast of the Phillies. He boasted of them being the team to beat in the National League East. He backed up his chatter with a season that won him the NL MVP Award.

Four months into the 2008 season, Rollins has done a lot of damage to his image. Not running out a popup in early June, a decision that led to his being pulled from a game, was one thing. Arriving late for the Phillies' most important game of the season, as Rollins did for Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Mets, could have lasting repercussions.

The Phillies already figured to have their hands full Thursday facing Mets starter Oliver Perez. He had thrown 18 1/3 scoreless innings against the Phils before Thursday. He continued his success against them with 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball.

Rollins' replacement, Eric Bruntlett, delivered three hits, including two doubles, in his place. That led Rollins to saying he didn't feel he let his teammates down.

He missed the point. Whether Bruntlett delivered a game-winning homer or struck out four times in Rollins' place, Rollins let his teammates down by showing up late. He is supposed to be a leader; too many times this year he hasn't lived up to that billing.

While most of the Phillies tried to downplay Rollins' absence, starting pitcher Jamie Moyer answered the questions head on.

"It's unfortunate, but rules are rules," Moyer said. "I commend Charlie for standing up to the rules that he made. We all need to be accountable for that. Each team has their own rules and they play not only for their manager and coaching staff, but amongst their teammates. I think you create who you are in the clubhouse and on the field in the way that you act and carry yourself."

In an understated way, Moyer made it clear that what Rollins did disappointed the team. How will Rollins respond? It could go a long way in determining where the Phillies' season heads.

Shortstop Jimmy Rollins was scratched from this afternoon's Phillies-Mets game at Shea Stadium for showing up nearly an hour later than the scheduled reporting time. The Phillies never made an announcement before this afternoon's 3-1 loss to the Mets as to why Rollins was pulled from the lineup, but manager Charlie Manuel said after the game it was for a late arrival.

With a left-hander, Johan Santana, starting Tuesday and three lefties in the Mets' bullpen, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel played around with his lineup. Manuel stayed with the top look again Wednesday even with the Mets starting right-hander John Maine.

Manuel was still concerned about the Mets' lefty relievers and wanted to have options for late in the game. He also suggested he could stick with the current look, rather than returning Victorino to the No. 2 hole with Utley, Howard and Burrell following.

As long as Burrell continues to hit, there's no reason Manuel can't at least consider sticking with the top of the order he has used in the first two games at Shea Stadium. Burrell works pitchers and gets on base. Teams would be more willing to pitch around Howard without Burrell behind him, one down side. The plus side of batting Burrell third is keeping teams from using power lefties to face Utley and Howard in succession late in games.

Manuel also likes the different look hitting Victorino down in the lineup brings. Victorino doesn't have to concern himself as much with taking pitches and moving runners over when he hits lower in the order, though Manuel emphasized situational hitting is a priority no matter where a player bats.

"Victorino, when his talent's working for him in the game, he's a great player," Manuel said. "He's a tremendous player. But sometimes when he's not getting on base and things and he really tries to find ways to do it, it doesn't work. It doesn't come out good. When this guy's on his game, he's a very exciting player."

When the Phillies were surging and the Mets were stumbling last year, the Phillies won the final eight meetings between the two teams. We all know the ending by now -- the Phillies won the NL East, while the Mets were left dealing with the repercussions of one of the worst late-season collapses in baseball history.

Entering Tuesday's series opener at Shea Stadium, the Phillies had eight games left with the Mets this year. The Phils snagged the first one with the kind of late-inning comeback they delivered time after time against the Mets in 2007.

Consider the latter the question of the day. The Phillies have every reason to believe in their comeback abilities. In the last season and a half, they have hit all of the Mets' best relievers -- Billy Wagner, Duaner Sanchez, Aaron Heilman and Pedro Feliciano -- at one time or another.

The temptation is to call Tuesday's game a watershed moment. It is a temptation best resisted.

While the Phillies have confidence today and the Mets must feel a little down, that all could change with tonight's game. What if Phils starter Brett Myers struggles the way he did during the first half and Mets starter John Maine continues his career-long success against the Phillies? Good-bye Phillies momentum. Of course, a good effort from Myers may get the Phillies started on a second-half roll.

When teams play 162 games in a season, it's always dangerous to read too much into one game. Remember July 4, when J.A. Happ helped the Phillies go toe-to-toe with Mets ace Johan Santana at Citizens Bank Park? The Phillies won the game 3-2 in the ninth with a rally against Sanchez. The Mets went on to win the next three games of the series, helping them climb back into the division race.

The only way to judge the impact of Tuesday's game is allow more games to be played. When the season ends, maybe Game No. 100 will be the one that set the season's final course. Or maybe it will be just another game, albeit a dramatic one, in a six-month slog.

With the Phillies staging a six-run, win-stealing rally in Tuesday's 8-6 victory over the Mets, Joe Blanton's Phillies debut became a sidelight.

It was a pedestrian effort in his up-and-down season.

Blanton could not continue his brief run of success against the Mets. He had thrown 15 shutout innings against them in his career entering Tuesday, but on this night he allowed five runs and eight hits in six innings. He exited with the Phillies down 5-1.

Blanton walked three and struck out one. Ramon Castro and Carlos Delgado both hit two-run homers off him.

Blanton did battle his way through six innings, an inning that included Castro's two-run homer. A couple of pitches here or there could have led to a much-improved line. It also could have been a worse night, as Endy Chavez was thrown out at the plate in the third for the first out in what wound up being a three-run inning.

Blanton's initial outing did nothing to quell questions about the back end of the Phillies' rotation. While he may be better than Adam Eaton, his first start looked similar to some of Eaton's this year.

The rousing comeback allowed Blanton to move to the backburner for a night.

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Brett Myers decided to ignore the media horde gathered at Shea Stadium on Tuesday. He said he didn't want to talk the day before his start, which will come tonight.

Pitching coach Rich Dubee and manager Charlie Manuel both reiterated their confidence in Myers. Starting him in New York in a big series is no concern, they contend, as he returns to the rotation after making four minor league starts.

Myers last pitched in the majors June 27 in Texas, allowing five runs in two-plus innings. He is 3-9 with a 5.84 ERA this season.

"We're in the middle of [playing] our division right now," Dubee said. "What can you do? I think he's ready. He thinks he's ready, so that's good. I think he's got some of his confidence back. The reports have been good on him. I think he can pitch like he needs to pitch again."

* * * * * * *

Reliever Tom Gordon (right elbow inflammation) has been playing catch but remains at least several weeks away from returning to the majors. Dubee said the Phillies hoped to have Gordon throwing off a mound in 7-10 days. There is no timetable for Gordon's return, though Dubee said he expected it would be during August.

When the Phillies started their series in Florida, three-fifths of their starting rotation was in Miami -- Cole Hamels, Kyle Kendrick and Jamie Moyer.

The final 40 percent arrived Saturday morning.

Joe Blanton (right), the newest member of the team, hopped a Friday flight from his Nashville home to Miami. He was activated Saturday, with right-hander Joe Bisenius getting optioned back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Blanton, acquired in the Thursday deal that sent prospects Adrian Cardenas, Josh Outman and Matt Spencer to Oakland, threw a bullpen session Saturday morning. He also threw one Wednesday, when he still thought he would be pitching Friday against the Yankees, to try to stay fresh because of an extended layoff; he last pitched July 9.

Blanton is in line to make his Phillies debut Tuesday, when they open a three-game series in New York against the Mets. He has thrown 15 shutout innings in two career starts against the Mets (seven innings, three hits in a 2005 start in Oakland, eight innings, five hits in a 2007 start in New York).

"I know I'll have a lot of adrenaline going for a new team and be excited, but hopefully I'll be able to back it down a little bit and stay within my game," Blanton said.

The final member of the Phillies' rotation, Brett Myers, also arrived at Dolphin Stadium on Saturday morning. He has not been activated yet, but he will probably start Wednesday in New York. Infielder Mike Cervenak will likely be optioned to Lehigh Valley when the time comes to activate Myers.

Myers (left) spent Friday pitching the last of four games on his minor league mission to re-establish his fastball and his confidence. He believes he has succeeded on both fronts. He won't know for sure until he pitches in a couple of big league games.

"It's kind of hard to tell right now," he said.

Myers does believe he has rediscovered the control of and some zip on his fastball. Manager Charlie Manuel said Myers estimated he threw 70 percent fastballs in his Friday start for high Single-A Clearwater. Myers allowed three runs (two earned) over 6 2/3 innings in that start.

"I had to go down and be aggressive again," Myers said of his stint in the minors. "I felt like I was being aggressive down there. I had to get my swagger back. I felt like I accomplished that."

The Phillies-Mets matchup next week already was going to draw plenty of eyeballs. It's a showdown series between the top two contenders in the NL East. The specter of 2007, when the Phillies surged and the Mets collapsed, has dimmed but not disappeared.

With Blanton and Myers pitching, the Phillies will have something extra at stake next week at Shea. The Phils are counting on Blanton throwing a lot of innings and Myers returning to the capable starter he was before moving to the bullpen last season as they try to repeat as NL East champs. If either Blanton or Myers falters, the questions about the Phillies' rotation will linger.

For those who wanted the Phillies to add a No. 2 starter, Joe Blanton doesn't fit the bill. He has only had an ERA under 3.60 once in his 3 1/2 full seasons. He has struggled at times this year in going 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA.

In acquiring Blanton from Oakland for three minor league prospects, the Phillies saw positives beyond those numbers. They saw a pitcher capable of throwing a lot of innings -- his 127 this year ranked sixth in the American League, and his 230 last season were second in the AL. They saw a 27 year-old righty that wouldn't be eligible for free agency until after the 2010 season.

Perhaps most importantly of all, they saw an upgrade over one of their in-house starters, Adam Eaton. While Phillies assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle wouldn't say who would leave the rotation to make room for Blanton, Eaton is the obvious choice.

The Phillies gave up a decent package for Blanton. Second baseman Adrian Cardenas began this year as their top position-player prospect. Left-hander Josh Outman was viewed as someone who may help in a relief role. The Phillies also traded outfielder Matt Spencer as the third piece in the deal.

For the Phillies, a team with an in-its-prime nucleus, sacrificing some of the future for the present made sense.

I'll have some more reaction to this deal after having some additional time to digest it. For now, here are some comments from Blanton and Arbuckle that didn't make it in the paper.

Blanton, on coming to the Phillies: "I'm really excited about the situation I'm coming into. I'm going to a team I played against and pitched against. I think they have a great team and I'm looking forward to joining them."

Arbuckle, on the prospects the Phillies dealt: "Adrian Cardenas is a quality hitter. He has a chance to be a .300 hitter in the big leagues. It's tough to move a young player of that stature. Josh Outman has really come on, even in the last few weeks. His command is really improving. He's a guy who is going to be a good big league pitcher, and not in the too distant future."

Blanton, on moving from a pitchers' park to a hitters' park: "I personally feel as a pitcher that sometimes the park doesn't make a huge difference. I feel like as a pitcher, if you do your job, keep hitters off balance, move the ball in and out, and the biggest thing I like to do is keep the ball on ground, I feel like if you go out and do your job it shouldn't make any difference."

Blanton's career numbers have been better in Oakland than on the road. His home ERA of 3.79 is nearly a run lower than his 4.78 road ERA.